Dunblane Nature Kindergarten

My son started in April 2016 and has been enjoying his experience. I have also been very happy with the staff.

My son attends 'Dunblane Nature Kindergarten' twice a week. He arrives happy, but is literally jumping with happiness when I collect him. He is always very excited to tell me about his day. He loves being outside anyway, so 'Dunblane Nature Kindergarten' is perfect for him. He gets out pretty much when he wants, is free to explore and play in the spacious outside space. Staff also take the children on local walks regularly, which he loves. He seems to pick up lots of information at nursery, which I suspect comes from the child led approach e.g. he was telling me about fossils recently. He likes the staff and I am very happy to leave him to their care. They are warm, welcoming and very interested in the children and their care.

We have used Dunblane Nature Kindergarten and the after school club for over 4 years and been very happy with the nursery and staff, and will recommend to friends. Our children are happy here and we enjoy the amount of outside time they have and variety of outside play.

Our 5 year old son has been at Dunblane Nature Kindergarten for 2 years. We travel out of our way to this nursery due to wanting him to have as much time outdoors as possible. The ethos of Dunblane Nature Kindergarten is excellent. It is child-led and they maximise the use of the outdoor space. We particularly value the staffs positives attitude to risky play and feel this is so important for children's development. We are so happy with his experience at Dunblane Nature Kindergarten and the lovely home made food is an added bonus.

Very happy with our two wee boys at Dunblane Nature Kindergarten. They seem to really love it. The staff are great, they all work really hard to form bonds with the kids. It is great that they are outdoors as much as possible and get lots of fresh air. The family days are good to meet other parents and I would be keen to see a few more of these. Perhaps a sports day or something. It would be good if the kids had a grassy area to play on.

An excellent, fun and quirky nursery which offers a good range of outdoor activities and nature based learning. They were excellent at settling in our son and continue to offer him great care.

We have our daughter at DNK and our son attended previously before starting school. It's a terrific environment in which to learn, particularly with the outdoor focus and child lead format of learning. We would thoroughly recommend it.

The impact the manager and his team have had on the nursery over the last few years has been brilliant overhauling the environment and focusing on nature based play. My youngest loves it there and regularly goes out into the surrounding community and open spaces to explore with staff and peers. She has developed strong bonds with her key staff who provide care based on knowing her and her personality really well. Great management with motivated staff. They also go beyond expectations to put on parent /children open evenings/events - such as the Xmas party and campfire night.

Yes I would definitely recommend the nursery our kids, thoroughly enjoy the outdoor aspect and learning about nature ... whatever the weather.

The nursery has a great location and has lots of facilities nearby.

Staff are fantastic and I really felt like they did everything they could to settle my son into the nursery. My son loves to be outside and I love that he is able to get out in all weathers and out on walks. I would definitely recommend to anyone else with young children.

Dunblane Nature Kindergarten is a very happy and well run nursery. Great staff. Wonderfully creative ideas for entertaining the children. The children have almost all been outside, at least to the garden if not to park or beyond.

The nursery has a great range of activities for the youngsters to partake in and don't allow age to be a barrier. The fact they will do outside activities regardless of the weather is fantastic as it's good to get the children out in the fresh air (suitable clothing is provided).

My son loves Dunblane Nature Kindergarten, he always comes back absolutely exhausted which to me is the sign of a good day had by all! The friendliness of the staff is great, and the activities are a nice mix of things that include indoor and outdoor which is important. The centre is secure, well managed and keep in good working order despite the constant toddling by a herd of little people. My son particularly enjoys hunting for bugs in the garden. The reports that the management team provide regarding his progress and activities are very helpful to us, and oftentimes very amusing to read, keep up the good work!

My son absolutely loves attending Kindergarten, he's always excited on the mornings he goes in. I feel he has come on leaps and bounds since starting. His confidence has improved and his communication skills are incredible. When I pick him up the staff are always very informative, I get a breakdown of his day. If I have mentioned that we have been working on something at home, the staff take the time to work on it with him also. I get a happy, tired boy back at the end of an adventurous day, I couldn't ask for more.

Dunblane Nature Kindergarten is a great environment for kids to learn through play, exploration and group sessions. Our child has attended since the baby room and is now in her pre-school year. The staff are lovely and very helpful at drop offs when children can be a little clingy. They will reassure them and help them find an activity or friend to play with . Also at the end of the day, it is lovely to get a brief summary of what the kids have been doing that day.

The outdoor ethos of the nursery is great and the children are encouraged to play out in all weathers if they wish. The nursery has excellent outdoor areas with pirate castle, outdoor classroom, hideaway, secret gardens and with the Allan water and Leighhills Park being a short stroll, it is great that the nursery make the most of the available local environment. I am happy that my child comes home happy and has had plenty of fresh air fun.

Facilities are excellent. Staff are friendly. Staff are supportive. The nursery is relaxed. You get the impression that nothing is a problem. The food is varied. Staff always know what your child has eaten. How much. How much sleep they have had. Activities are often spontaneous, around what the child wants to do. I just love this place.

My son has some developmental needs and the staff involved with him have acted with intelligence and pragmatism and have really helped to bring on his confidence and his development.

Conversations about him and his needs are conducted with empathy and compassion, you also know that staff are pushing him to be the best he can be.

As a parent with a wee person who is struggling developmentally I would not hesitate to recommend this nursery and its staff, their person centred approach means that his needs on any given day are catered for and that short medium and long term goals for his development are considered and implemented.

It is a very comfortable experience for us as parents and for my son who is thriving.

Our son has been at DNK for a year and we are very happy with the standards there.
He is always happy to go and the welcome from the lovely staff is heartwarming.
All the children seem happy at the nursery, which I think speaks volumes about the care they receive.